If as many as 80% of men and 50% of women over 50 will benefit from
taking aspirin then perhaps a non disease approach should be considered.
Could the effects of aspirin be mimicking a nutrient missing in the
modern civilised diet? As reported in New Scientist, organically grown
vegetable soups contain almost six times more salicylic acid than do non
organic vegetable soups. The author suggests that salicylates are
essential for good health and could be designated vitamin S.

Many commonly used medicinal herbs contain substances that the body
biotransforms to salicylic acid. For example salicin is found in Salix
spp, Populus spp, Viola spp, and Viburnum spp; fraxin is found in
Fraxinus spp; and both spiraein and salicylaldehyde are found in
Filipendula spp. These substances are biotransformed after passage
through the stomach and so are not associated with the risks of
gastrointestinal bleeding as is aspirin. Salix extracts have several
anti-inflammatory targets including effects on both forms of
cyclo-oxygenase.